The Wager

Inside the cavern, time grew viscous. Every stroke of Jingtian's ninth tentacle imprinted a deadly dark-purple trail upon the space around him. He was forging this temporary lair into a lethal trap for his pursuers, one containing the threefold laws of "stillness," "withering," and "soul venom."

His origin depleted rapidly, and a tearing agony coursed through his soul. Yet his eyes—his consciousness—grew ever brighter, like venom-tempered stars of ice. His advanced ninety-thousand-year cultivation and profound comprehension of the laws of poison were squeezed to their limits at this moment. Deep within his poison source, he felt the Poison Core that fused the Scorpion Tail Soul Bone, Deep Sea Demon Whale soul power, and the experience of countless killings and acts of devouring begin to heat faintly, craving... an offering.

Xiao Bai... a hundred thousand years... the Sea God's favored servant... the perfect offering. A cold, mad thought coiled around his will.

The feedback from his poison's transformation showed him another possibility—hunting. Using the terrain, traps, patience, and... venomous fangs that killed with a single strike.

I must have the "bullets" ready before she arrives. Jingtian steeled himself. He stopped expanding the poison formation and instead frantically compressed, condensed, and refined his remaining origin poison power, together with the residual essence of the Soul Douluo and demon sharks he had just devoured.

His objective: create three Specialized Dan-Devour pellets.

He no longer bothered thinking up fancy names. He sought only the utmost precision and power against his target.

Condensing the three Dan-Devour pellets nearly drained Jingtian's origin, already badly depleted from laying the formation. His body trembled slightly, his aura weakened, and the rings on his skin dimmed. Yet the eerie gleam in his eyes was as sharp as a poisoned arrow about to leave the bowstring.

At the very instant the last Dan-Devour pellet took shape—

"Benefactor! They... they're here!! Three hundred li away! Xiao Bai! At least two shark kings nearing a hundred thousand years! Three Titled Douluos!!" Mo Yuan's terrified, hurried mental message exploded in his mind!

Three hundred li! Xiao Bai could cover that distance in an instant!

From the crevice where Huiban hid came a pulse of despair and resolve.

There was no time!

"Mo Yuan! Tieshan! Hear my orders!" Jingtian's mental voice struck like lightning tearing through the darkness. "Change of plan! Execute 'poison bait'!"

"Huiban, I'll detonate the first layer of the Illusory Poison Barrier at the entrance immediately, creating the illusion that I've already fled. Take Lanxi and use the energy I left you to move toward the underground river fissure deep inside the cavern. Go as far as you can! Wait for my signal, or never come out!"

"Tieshan! Mo Yuan! Find the best ambush point along the edge of the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent immediately! I'll lure Xiao Bai's main force... over there!"

"Your task is to create chaos and scatter the enemy, giving me one chance to kill Xiao Bai with a precision strike!"

"If we win this battle, the deep sea will have a new master. If we fail..."

No further words were needed. Every Demon Whale's soul shuddered as they understood this bid to slay a king!

"Tieshan accepts your orders! I swear to create that opening, even at the cost of my life!"

"Mo Yuan understands! I will not betray your trust!"

Huiban sent back a faint but steadfast pulse of obedience.

There was no hesitation. Jingtian activated his poison source, and the first layer of the compound poison formation at the cavern entrance—the barrier of illusions and misdirection—silently sprang into action!

Outside the cavern, the scene warped on an energetic level. A "phantom" carrying a mixture of Jingtian's aura and panicked soul power fluctuations swiftly "fled" in the direction opposite the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent, leaving a clear trail. The cavern's own soul power was concealed, simulating a deserted dwelling.

With everything done, Jingtian glanced one last time toward Huiban's hiding place. His body abruptly contracted, his aura suppressed to the freezing point, and Guixu Assimilation surged to its utmost limit. Like a drop of venom dissolving into ink, he slipped silently out of the cavern and raced toward a stretch of sea off to the side, where chaotic soul power mingled with reefs and swirling currents! He needed to "waste" his pursuers' time, test his traps, observe their formation, and put distance between himself and the cavern.

Less than half a quarter-hour after he left the cavern—

Boom—!

A beam of pure, vast blue divine light, bearing supreme majesty and piercing murderous intent, shot through the water from afar like a spear of heavenly punishment, striking the Illusory Poison Barrier at the cavern entrance with unerring precision!

Hiss—!

The Illusory Poison Barrier instantly dissolved, purified! The triggered poison explosion was forcibly set off, but the blue divine light effortlessly quelled and purified most of its power, stirring only a chaotic, harmless ripple of energy.

The divine light faded, revealing the figures behind it.

At their head was a figure whose entire body resembled white jade, wreathed in a sacred pale-gold radiance. It was none other than the Demon Soul Great White Shark King—Xiao Bai! She hovered in the water, her gaze cold and indifferent, as though she had merely brushed away some dust. The aura emanating from her was vast as the sea and pure as the heavens, imbued with the absolute majesty of a superior being. Every lesser creature in these waters instinctively prostrated itself.

Slightly behind her hovered two somewhat smaller Demon Soul Great White Shark deputies, both equally magnificent and extraordinary, their auras fierce and savage, their cultivation nearing a hundred thousand years.

Farther back were three Titled Douluos from Sea God Island—Sea Star Douluo, holding the phantom of a golden trident; Sea Spear Douluo, wielding a giant bow; and Sea Ghost Douluo, renowned for his tracking!

"Paltry tricks." Xiao Bai's cool voice reverberated on the level of the soul, laced with disdain. "Trying to stall with poison and illusions? It really is you, venomous vermin lurking in the gutter. But you won't escape."

Her gaze swept over the purified barrier, then turned toward the direction in which Jingtian's "phantom" had fled and toward the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent. Her mouth curved into a cold smile.

"Split into two forces," Xiao Bai ordered. "Sea Star, Sea Spear, take a squad of elites and follow the 'escape' trail that venomous creature deliberately left behind. He's likely laying false trails, or waiting in ambush. Find him, pin him down, and send a signal."

"Yes!" Sea Star and Sea Spear accepted their orders, selected five elite Demon Soul Great White Sharks over eighty thousand years old, and pursued Jingtian's "phantom."

"Sea Ghost, you'll come with me, along with Baiya and Baiji." Xiao Bai looked toward the other deputy and the two shark king deputies. "We're going to the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent. The remnants of chaotic soul power are strongest there. That little whale pod of his must have fled that way. As for this lair..."

Her gaze returned to the cavern entrance, narrowing slightly before she dismissed it as insignificant.

"Leave a mark. We'll clean it out later. Baiya, go inside and take a look. Confirm what's there, then catch up immediately."

"As you command, my king!" A bloodthirsty gleam flashed through the eyes of the shark king named Baiya. He became a streak of silver lightning and charged into the dark cavern.

Xiao Bai lingered no longer. Leading Sea Ghost Douluo, her deputy Baiji, and most of the remaining elite sharks, she sped toward the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent at a terrifying pace, like a blue divine arrow loosed from its bow!

The hunt had begun.

Three hundred li away, Jingtian concealed himself to the utmost within the complex waters off to the side, sensing everything behind him. He received Mo Yuan's report: Xiao Bai had divided her forces, and one shark king nearing a hundred thousand years had entered the cavern.

She split her forces... one deputy entered the cavern... Murderous intent and calculation intertwined in Jingtian's icy consciousness.

Good. He had succeeded in scattering the enemy. An opportunity to eliminate an isolated, powerful foe had delivered itself to his door.

The game has begun, Xiao Bai.

Jingtian no longer looked back, nor did he concern himself with the shark king entering the cavern. He trusted Huiban, and trusted his poison formation even more. His massive body began accelerating stealthily toward the Soul-Devouring Undercurrent along the most concealed, efficient route. He had to reach Tieshan and Mo Yuan before Xiao Bai and set the final killing trap.

Meanwhile, inside the cavern.

Baiya's enormous body swam inside, the might of a shark king radiating without restraint. His cold compound eyes swept over the empty cavern as he sensed the lingering soul power.

Then he saw the narrow fissure entrance deep within the cavern, leading to an underground river.

He also "smelled" the faint scent drifting from deep within that fissure, belonging to a panicked Deep Sea Demon Whale... the scent of blood.

A cruel, contemptuous grin surfaced in his consciousness.

Found you, little mouse.

He hesitated no longer. Silver light flashed, and he shot into the fissure like lightning!